


Out in the open

by Mierke



Category: Sex Education (TV)
Genre: Community: 100fandoms, F/M, background Otis/Ola
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:47:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22243555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mierke/pseuds/Mierke
Summary: Jean knew she should keep her distance, not seek Jakob out, but then what would happen if they managed to cross paths because Otis and Ola spent time together? Surely this explosiveness was better dealt with behind closed doors, where it wouldn't scar their children for life.
Relationships: Jean Milburn/Jakob Nyman
Kudos: 37





	Out in the open

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt _Blue_ ('out of the blue') for the [100 Fandom challenge](https://100fandoms.dreamwidth.org/).

Jean had always thought these things happened gradually. Not all at once, and especially not when she wasn't looking. 

Oh, as a sex therapist she had told hundreds of clients that rules were good and well, and rules were important, but it was no use putting up boundaries to keep feelings out. They'll creep right through, she'd told them, the couples that thought only allowing their partner to have sex with other people and not develop an emotional connection would keep that from happening, the people who thought putting restrictions on what they could talk about would keep their friendship-with-benefits from turning into more, or the ones who thought that if they only hung out once a week, surely their heart didn't have time to get in it. 

Of course it's important to make things clear in your relationships with other people, she'd tell them, but nothing you can set in place will prevent you from falling in love. And you have to be okay with that, with the heartbreak that might follow, otherwise you shouldn't start at all. We have a heart, and our heart craves connection, intimacy beyond the physical. 

Yet still, for all the wisdom she'd imparted over the years, she'd always thought herself above that. She'd always figured that her academic brain, her analytical mind, would win out over her heart. Sex was just sex. She didn't date, and she didn't fall in love. After all, after what had happened with Remi, she had been very clear in her decision to never risk her heart again. 

But here she was, sneaking around like she was sixteen, because of course the one man who did manage to get her attention was the father of the girl her son was _finally_ dating. She didn't want to mess things up with him, and she had meant it when she had told Jakob nothing could happen, but there was something between them that was too potent to ignore. She knew she should keep her distance, not seek him out, but then what would happen if they managed to cross paths because Otis and Ola spent time together? Surely this explosiveness was better dealt with behind closed doors, where it wouldn't scar their children for life. 

That's what she told herself as she snuck out of her own home, as they stole some time when their kids were at school, or on a date themselves. They had amazing sex, but that was not even what she was looking forward to the most. It was the cuddling afterwards, the way they talked. She loved the way he formed words, she loved how he'd talk to her in Swedish sometimes and she'd have no idea what he was saying, but would still know what he meant. It was all so very mushy and she was scared, terrified even, of messing this up, but though she knew there was no way this could end well, she couldn't resist. 

They had had some close calls, when they had ended up in the same restaurant their children had chosen for their date, or when Otis had almost walked in on the two of them, or when they'd lost track of time and Otis had teased her mercilessly when she came home far later than usual and she'd snapped at him. Things often cooled down a bit after these moments, but never for long. 

Then, one day, the bell rang, and Otis very nervously told her to please sit down on the couch, he had something to share with her. The most ridiculous things flitted through her mind - he was kicked out of school, he had cancer, he had gotten Ola pregnant - and her mind had just gotten stuck on that last possibility and how she would support him no matter what they decided, when Jakob stood in her living room. 

They had seen each other the day before, but there was something different about seeing him in her home, without the veil of secrecy clinging to him. It was like he looked brighter, like his edges were sharper somehow, and she drank him in without meaning to. When Ola followed her father into the room, Jean's mind snapped back to its previous thoughts and the words tumbled out of her mouth: "Oh my God, you're pregnant, aren't you?" 

"Mom!" Otis hissed, and Jean looked at her son, not sure why he was so embarrassed. 

"It happens," she said. "It's basic biology. I'm sure we can figure out where to go from here. Come, sit. Do you want something to drink?" 

Keeping her hands busy was better than dealing with the tension in the room, so she left for the kitchen without even waiting for an answer. Some Swedish was floating in, and she smiled despite herself, knowing that at least Jakob was going through the same thing, that they could talk about this. That they had support in each other. When she came back, Jakob had settled on the couch, and Otis and Ola were at the ends. There was a place left for her between Otis and Jakob, and she sat down, making sure not to sit any closer to Jakob than was appropriate, no matter how much she wanted to. 

"Jean," Ola said. "I am not pregnant." 

"Are you sure?" Jean asked, confused. 

"Quite." Ola smirked. 

"We haven't even had sex yet," Otis mumbled, and Jean clapped her hand over her mouth. 

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, and Otis shrugged, as if he didn't care he wasn't having sex, or maybe as if he was used to her thinking about sex all the time. Either way, he wouldn't look at her, shared a look with Ola instead that Jean couldn't decipher. 

"We are here," Ola said, "to tell you to stop hiding." 

"What?" 

Jean's mouth had fallen open, and Jakob looked as flabbergasted as she felt. 

"We know you've been seeing each other," Otis continued. "And you've been sneaking around, and we figure it's for our sakes. So, this is us telling you, it's okay." 

"We want you to be happy," Ola said, and she put her hand on her father's knee. 

"How? When?" Jean stammered, not even thinking of denying it, not with Jakob so close to her, his feelings radiating from his skin. 

"I might not know much about sex, but I do know about hiding," Otis said. "I recognise the signs. And I know this might be your way of still avoiding commitment, mom, but that's got to stop." 

"I was just trying to protect you," she said. "I didn't want to ruin your first real relationship." 

"I know." Otis smiled at her, and she hadn't seen that much from him lately, the love for his mother shining through his eyes. "And that's sweet of you. But you don't have to put up walls around your heart just to please me. Or use me as a shield so you won't get hurt." 

"I don't do that," she mumbled, and Jakob laughed. 

"Stop hiding," the children said, and with that, they left the room. After a minute, Jean could hear the front door, and she was alone in her home, with Jakob, and no excuses between them to keep it from going too far, getting too deep. 

"I had not expected that," she said, and Jakob's rich laughter filled the room. 

"We have wonderful children," he said, and Jean could only agree. "Well, Jean Milburn, would you go on a date, in the daylight, with me, to our favourite restaurant, even though our children might be there?" 

Jean stifled a laugh as she nodded. "I would love that."


End file.
